The Intervention Game
by OmnipresentNuance
Summary: Lori decides to step in on Lincoln's behalf against Chandler once she finds out why Lincoln keeps asking her for free food. As a result, she costs her brother's chance at Chandler's birthday. While Lincoln sees this at first as another unneeded case of sisterly meddling, he also comes to learn his own actions cost something of Lori's as well, which he then hopes to rectify.


**Why, hello there! Pleased to make one's acquaintance in this, my first of many entries in what I hope will be a long, prosperous, uh...not necessarily "career", but let's say endeavor into Loud House fanfiction. **

**For this first one, as you may gather from the title and summary, this is sort of a very mild alteration of the episode "The Waiting Game". Note the phrasing "alteration", not "rewriting". I would never rewrite an entire episode from top to bottom, because that's not something I think is worth doing in my humble, subjective opinion. But small changes to create "what if" scenarios well into the plot of certain episodes I think can make for fun ideas and that's what some of the first few stories of mine will constitute. But fret not, those are far from the only stories I will be uploading this month, let alone altogether. **

**Now in addition to the mild alteration (which the summary already laid out), there's also both a "before" and "after" scene which consists of a personal interpretation of how Lincoln got to take over Lori's work shift and then in an aftermath of them heading back home. Also, as a side note, it's pretty apropos that my first Loud House fanfic is based on "The Waiting Game", since it was the second episode I ever watched, right after "Roughin' It", of course. **

**Okay, I think I've gotten everything out of the way. With that, enjoy!**

**_The Loud House is the exclusive property of Nickelodeon and Viacom. The usage of the setting, characters and such is based on nothing more than a pure affinity for them and is not being used for monetary purposes._**

* * *

It was another busy day over at Gus' Games & Grub, one of Royal Woods' premier entertainment venues for kids, teens and even adults, where those who come on through this establishment's doors can play a whole assortment of arcade games and other forms of stimulating entertainment, and then afterward taken in a filling meal of pizza or any of the other available kinds of edibles. Or perhaps do the opposite, eat then play, whichever sounds more appealing.

"Appealing", however, would not be the word best to describe how Lori Loud was feeling right about now, who was also working at this particular establishment. All day long, she had to trudge through reluctantly giving free food and drinks to her little brother, Lincoln, which initially wasn't such a big deal at first. The day before, she was more than happy to give both him and his best friend, Clyde, a little bit in the way of free stuff as her way of thanking Lincoln, as he was the one who helped Lori get her the job in the first place. Part of the reason she wanted the job was she could earn a little extra money so she can afford a dress she wanted to wear for a big dance she was attending the following evening, so she had been a pleasant mood for the most part.

Today by contrast, she was in more dour mood, both from feeling the heat from her manager over the amount of free stuff she was giving to Lincoln and from upon learning the main reason he was leaning on her for the free stuff was because he was trying to impress a boy named Chandler, whose birthday was coming up and both Lincoln and Clyde really wanted to go, since it was taking place at Chandler's dad's place of work at a sewage treatment facility.

Observing from afar, Lori saw Lincoln give Chandler the most recent food item she was effectively guilt tripped into giving away: a bag of garlic knots. After that, she watched Lincoln go back on over to the arcade to rejoin with Clyde.

In that moment, Lori thought about confronting this boy that her brother was so bent on pleasing just to earn the ability to attend his birthday. She knew full well that if she did go though with such a plan that Lincoln was very likely to wig out on her for interfering, but it was a risk Lori was willing to take. She may have not been a fan of how he was using her to get free food, but she doubly hated to see him appearing to be manipulated by a boy who, based on what she had seen, didn't seem at all interested in actually inviting Lincoln and was only using him as a conduit for the free food.

Deciding to go through with it, Lori went around from the front counter and over to the table where Chandler and two of his friends were sitting.

"Hey, you're Chandler, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's right." He replied, "You must be Larry's sister."

"Uh, excuse me, his name is Lincoln..." Lori shot back as she folded her arms, "But anyway, I know all about the game that's being played about you getting free stuff and I don't like it one bit."

Chandler shrugged dismissively, "I don't see the big deal. Me and my friends here get some complementary grub and soon enough your brother will be invited to the party event of the season. A win-win if you ask me."

Lori rolled her eyes, then narrowed them in Chandler's direction, "Look, I didn't like the fact that Lincoln kept leaning on me for the free food. But what I literally hate is you looking like you're only leading him on in some vain hope he'll actually get invited to your birthday..."

"Lori, what are you doing?!"

As she likely fully expected, Lincoln came rushing on over to the scene and began pushing Lori away until both of them were back near the front counter.

"What were you doing talking with Chandler?" He asked agitated, "You'll blow my chance in going to his party!"

Lori scoffed, "I think I may have been doing you a favor, Lincoln. It seems clear to me that he doesn't actually want you coming to his party and even if he was, it's only because he's exploiting you to get free stuff from me."

"You don't know that! He could've been-"

Before he could finish, Lincoln heard the voice of Clyde calling for him.

"Lincoln!" Clyde shouted, "Chandler just left!"

"Wait, what?!"

Sure enough, once Lincoln turned around and looked, both Chandler and his friends had just left though the doors of the eatery. He went on over to the table they had been sitting at looking to see if there was a chance that any invitations to the party were left behind for him and Clyde, but saw nothing.

"Did he give you any invitations, Clyde?" Lincoln asked.

"Not that I know of." Clyde answered dejectedly, "Unless he's going to hand deliver them to our houses, which is all but totally unlikely at this rate, since I doubt he knows where we live."

Feeling any remaining hopes of his being dashed, Lincoln released a defeated groan. Then, he turned back over in Lori's direction with an expression of pure anger materializing on his face, believing her intervention was what made Chandler leave and forgoing the invitations.

"Thanks for nothing, Lori! You just had to meddle in my affairs again, didn't you?!" He yelled over to his oldest sister furiously, who didn't exactly appear to bothered by him, "You completely wrecked everything for me! For that, I hope your dance tonight goes horribly for you!"

With that little declaration out of the way, Lincoln promptly exited through the front door, with Clyde following behind a bit more worriedly.

* * *

Later on, the evening hours had arrived and Lori should be off at her dance. But she wasn't, and instead, here she was back at Gus' Games & Grub having to do another shift there.

It was not how Lori wanted her night to go. She had everything planned out, including getting the absolutely stunning dress she would've worn befitting of the undersea theme of the dance, but a last minute phone call from her manager changed her plans. Now, she had to work the night shift in order to pay off all the free stuff she gave away all because of Lincoln. As a result, she couldn't help but hold a fair amount of resentment towards her brother for not being able to make it for her big night, even after feeling like she did the right thing in coming to his defense against Chandler.

While she was busy clearing a number of tables of plates, wrappers and such, Lori heard the front door opening. She turned her attention over there, and much to her surprise, she saw Lincoln coming right in.

"Uh, hey there, Lori." He said, laughing a little bit nervously afterward.

"What do you want, Lincoln?" Lori said rather flatly, turning her attention back to the table she was clearing up.

"Well, um...if it isn't much trouble, could I have a word with your manager?"

"Huh? What for?" Lori wondered, but then she made an annoyed face at him, thinking she had an idea of what may be going on, "Lincoln, if you're going to try to find a way to get more free stuff, then don't even bother."

"It's not about free stuff, Lori!" Lincoln answered back, "Please, just let me talk to him for a moment."

Lori let out a sigh, but then relented, "Fine. I doubt whatever you're going to say to him will go through, but go ahead. Just let me tell him you're coming first."

She paused in her table clearing and worked her way back behind the counter to inform her manager of Lincoln's coming arrival. Just under a minute later, Lori returned to her brother to let him know he can go over.

"Okay, he can see you, but make it quick."

With a determined smile on his face, Lincoln zipped past his sister and on over the manager's office. Meanwhile, Lori resumed in finishing up in clearing away some of the tables. With that done, she would return back behind the counter and decided to take a few moments in checking over her phone, assuming no interruptions were coming her way.

While on her phone, Lori found herself leaning against the wall just next to the door leading to the manager's office, and though she didn't mean to nor did she particularly care, she couldn't help but overhear the conversation going on inside between him and Lincoln.

"_Do you realize how close I came to firing her? If it wasn't for the fact the she is your sister and that you talked me into getting her the job, I've would've done so in a flash."_

"_I know, but it wasn't her fault that she gave away all that stuff for free, but instead it was mine. I kept begging Lori off for everything just so could I could give it all to this kid in the hope I could go to his birthday party. But the more I think about it, as she was trying to tell me earlier, he likely was only using me just as much as I using her. So please don't put all the blame on Lori, because I'm the one who really deserves it."_

"_Hmm, well if that's truly the case, I do appreciate you coming over and clearing things up while taking some responsibility for everything, too. Thanks for doing so."_

"_It's no problem, but there's one other thing I wanted to ask. You see, my sister was meaning to attend this important dance of hers and I hate the idea of her missing it because of my selfish actions. So, if its okay with you...is it possible I can take over and do her shift for her instead?"_

The minute she heard that, Lori gasped lightly and widened her eyes. She was so shocked to hear Lincoln offer to do that, she fumbled around and almost dropped her phone in the process. Now she was listening in more intently.

"_Well, that's a pretty unusual request. I've never had anyone of your age working here before. I'm not so sure about this..."_

"_I understand, but would you please consider it for me? For Lori at the very least?"_

"_Well...it probably won't be too busy tonight. You know what, as a __favor t__o both you and your sister__, I'll let you do it. Just make sure __she__ is okay with it first._"

A smile came across Lori's face. The level of generosity her little brother was showcasing had moved her so much, that no more than two steps after Lincoln emerged out of the manager's office, she yanked him right on over towards her in a tight hug.

"Oh, Lincoln..." Lori said softly, then parted away to look at his face, "You really would take over for me?"

"Um, yeah." Lincoln responded confusedly, "Wait, hold on, were you listening in just now?"

"Well, I wasn't trying to at first, but once I heard that part, I couldn't help myself." She admitted, "But anyway, you're serious about doing my shift for me?"

Lincoln nodded and put both hands on his sister's shoulders, "Yes, I am. Because of what happened today, I should be the one getting mozzarella stuck in my fingernails and not you, while you should be over at that dance having one of the best nights of your life."

Once more, Lori was so incredibly touched by Lincoln's selflessness. She sniffled and let a couple of tears fall from her eyes while she embraced him again.

"Lincoln...this is one the nicest things you've ever offered to do for me." She said tearfully, yet also proudly on top of that, "I literally cannot thank you enough. I'm never going to forget this, I can promise you that."

"It's my pleasure, Lori." Lincoln said in response, "Now you should probably get going. You've got a big night ahead of you."

Lori smiled, patted her little brother's shoulder and headed off to change out of her work uniform. After doing so, she was just about to leave before Lincoln spoke up again.

"Wait, one more thing, Lori." He said.

She paused and looked back at him.

"Thanks for making me realize what Chandler was doing, and I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you earlier. I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry about, Lincoln." Lori said assuredly, "Though you have to admit, having a meddling sister did help out here, didn't it?"

"Uh, heh...maybe?" Lincoln responded with a hesitant laugh.

"I suppose I'll take that as a yes." Lori said, amused with the indecisiveness of his answer.

With that, she left through the entrance way as Lincoln prepared himself in getting to work for the coming shift ahead.

* * *

The time was fast approaching 10:00 PM and things were quiet at the arcade. For the most part not a whole lot happened over time, aside from a quick visit from Clyde, which made things easy for Lincoln in regards to handling the work shift that would've otherwise been done by Lori. While this was obviously not how he wanted to spend his night, it didn't matter. He didn't care one little bit about missing out on Chandler's birthday or sticking it out here so long that his sister got to go to her much anticipated dance and for that reason alone it was worth doing in his mind.

Speaking of which, as he was leaning against the front counter, Lincoln saw the headlights of Vanzilla shine through the front windows. Sure enough, it was Lori coming back so that she could take both of them back home. She stepped on out and came through the front door, still decked out in her marvelous Sea Queen dress, which earlier caused Lincoln to humorously call her a "sea monster" when she stopped by briefly to thank Lincoln again before heading off for the dance, much to her amusement.

"Hey there, Lori." Lincoln said.

"Hey, Lincoln." Lori answered back, "How did things go around here?"

"Eh, not a whole lot happened. Pretty boring, if you ask me." Lincoln acknowledged with a shrug, "But anyway, enough of that, how did your dance go?"

"Oh, it was positively magical! It turned out to be one of the best nights of my life, just like you told me it would before I left!" Lori answered, sighing dreamily in addition.

"I'm so glad to hear that, Lori." Lincoln said while smiling, "And by the way, I want to say again that I'm sorry for blowing up on you earlier in the day. Plus, I'm sorry for begging you off for all the free stuff. Also, I'm sorry for wishing that your dance would go horribly. That was totally uncalled for on my part. And also I-"

Before he could go on, Lincoln felt himself become ensnared in a suffocating, but nonetheless loving embrace from Lori, who also kissed him on the top of his head.

"Lincoln, relax, you don't need to go on some lengthy apology tangent. It's okay, all is forgiven. With that being said, and I cannot say this enough, but thank you again for doing this for me. You truly are a sweet little bro. I owe you one in the future." She said filled with esteem.

"That's nice to hear, Lori, just great..." Lincoln barely expressed, straining from the tight hug he was gripped in, "And I also appreciate it if you could let me get some oxygen back into my system..."

"Oh, sure, sorry about that." Lori said sheepishly, letting him go, but still keeping her hands on his shoulders, "So, are you ready to head back home?"

Lincoln nodded, "Sure I am. Though I must say, I'm still surprised you were willing to take me home. I think I could've made it back on my own."

"You kidding me? Literally the only reason Mom and Dad would even consider allowing you to be out this late at night altogether, let alone to cover my shift for me, was going to based on me coming to get you. So honestly, it's not like you had a choice here, Lincoln." Lori explained plainly.

"True, I guess I can admit to that." Lincoln conceded with a nod, "Anyway, just let me get changed out of my work uniform first."

Nodding back in acknowledgment, Lori let Lincoln go to the back to get changed while she waited near one of the booths nearby. About a little bit past two minutes later, he reemerged in his regular clothes.

"Okay, let's roll!" Lincoln said with aplomb.

Lori chuckled as she lead her little brother on over to Vanzilla where he got into the front passenger seat and she in the driver's seat. As she settled in, she couldn't help but look over to her right and noticed that not even two seconds after getting situated himself, Lincoln was leaning against the window and appearing to be coming close to falling asleep. Even if the night shift itself didn't have much of a workload, being out this late at night still made him feel pretty tuckered out, a sight that Lori found to be nothing short of adorable.

"You tired, Linc?" She asked sweetly.

"Mm-hmm..." He replied quietly.

"Well, we will be back home soon enough so can get some much needed rest." Lori said as she reached over and gently stroked her brother's cheek, "You've literally earned it after tonight."

Letting Lincoln get a small amount of rest on the way, Lori started the engine and drove themselves back on their way home. She was all smiles along the way, eternally thankful for what her brother did for her tonight. One day, she hoped to find some way to return the favor for his selfless deed as she had just promised him moments ago.

A few minutes of driving later, they had at last returned home after their respective long nights. Lori stepped out of the driver's seat, and knowing he was still pretty exhausted, she went around to the passenger's side to help Lincoln out by picking up and carrying him back inside the house.

Stepping into their now quiet home, Lori hauled her brother in her arms up the stairs and into his room, where after she took off his shoes for him, she would pull down the sheets and blankets, placed him onto the bed and then finally covered him up cozily. All of this did cause Lincoln to stir awake a little bit.

"Lori…?" He whispered out.

"Shh...get some sleep right now, okay?" Lori told him softy, "I love you, Lincoln, and thank you yet again for everything. Good night."

Following a ruffle of his hair and a kiss on the forehead, Lori allowed Lincoln to get comfortable and start the process of going to sleep. She left him alone and headed for her bedroom so she can make her own preparations for bedtime as well.

Meanwhile, as Lincoln was getting closer to sleep, he smiled warmly. Although he was ambiguous in response to her earlier question, in this case, having a sister who intervened in his affairs really did in fact help out and he'd learn to be more appreciative of such watchful practices from her or any of his sisters for that matter from that point onward. On top of that, he was proud of what he did today both for the satisfaction of his oldest sister and for the love she'll always give him in return for it.

"Thank you, Lori...and I love you, too..." Lincoln quietly said sleepily before he finally dozed off into slumber.

* * *

**So there you have it, the first one of mine is in the books. Wasn't that sweet? Oh, and on the off chance anyone will point this out, yes, I know that Chandler _did _actually give Lincoln and Clyde the invitations after getting the garlic knots in "The Waiting Game". I didn't have him do that here in order to make Lori confronting him more plausible. **

**Anyway with that said, give any feedback if you're inclined to do so and I shall see you again quite soon.**


End file.
